Juicing is a big part of my life. Where many of you can’t begin your day without your favorite cup of joe, my go to morning beverage is a green tea berry smoothie. J and I are not big coffee drinkers, but don’t get me wrong, I love the smell and taste of fresh brewed coffee. For me the crash I experience after caffeine does its magic, feels much worse that the tiredness I battle with when first waking up. As I suffer from low energy, a weakened immune and fatigue, I’ve found that juicing is a great way to naturally boost my energy without relying on caffeine. I also swear by it to help me ward off illnesses during peak cold and flu seasons.

We’ve been fortunate enough to have a Vitamix on loan from friends for the past year, and I can say we’d be lost without it. I attempted making fresh juice everyday but it started to be a pain. With the Vitamix we’re able to make six servings of juice or smoothie at a time, which we store in mason jars in the fridge, allowing the two of us to have a healthy breakfast option for three days. The longer fresh juice is exposed to air, the more health benefits it begins to lose. But three days is a pretty safe bet in most of the resources that I’ve found. My tried and true recipe for our daily smoothie is loaded with antioxidants from berries and green tea. Green tea has also been shown to aid in combating some cancers. I also rely on fresh ginger to help give my immune system a boost. Here is a basic recipe followed by optional add-ins (that we do include each time we make this).

Green Tea Berry Smoothie

Recipe by mmvsmm.comMakes 6 servings (reduce by 1/6 to make a single serving) based on 64oz/2L blender

We do not sweeten any of our juices or smoothies as we find the fruit to be sweet enough. If you like things on the sweeter side try adding in raw agave, honey, or maple syrup. A couple of tablespoons should do the trick!

Instructions:

Add ingredients into blender, liquids first

Blend on high

Pour into mason jars, seal jars with lids and refrigerate

Enjoy as your morning breakfast or as a mid day snack!

*Disclaimer: please note, I am not sponsored by any of the products used on this blog. Any products used have strictly been of my own choosing/research.

I’m always searching for creative ways to be able to enjoy pasta dishes and still eat relatively clean. My last post featured a zucchini noodle dish, which we loved, but I wanted to try something new. I’ve often found gnocchi (potato based pasta) offered as a gluten-free option at some restaurants, but with my diet I stray away from all potatoes, with the exception of sweet potatoes. Figuring that there must be such a thing as gnocchi made from sweet potatoes, I took to Google to find such a recipe using flour that was both grain-free and gluten-free. Thanks to Heartbeet Kitchen for providing me with this winner!

Whisk the flours/starch and salt together. Put the mashed sweet potato in a large bowl and add half of the flour mixture. Lightly need it in with your hands, then add the other half and knead just until no flour streaks remain.

Pull it together into one ball – the mixture should not be too sticky. If it is, add another tablespoon of almond flour and ½ tablespoon tapioca starch.

Then flatten into a disc. Cut the disc into fours. Dust a clean surface with millet flour. Roll out each piece with your hands & fingers on the surface until you create a snake-like piece about 6 inches long, and ½ inch wide. Then with a knife cut individual gnocchi, about 1 inch long. (You don’t want them to be too big or they won’t cook through). Press the tines of your fork lightly into them to make the indents.

Repeat for each piece of dough. Coat the surface lightly with more of the flour mix just so it doesn’t stick when you cut it.

In a medium pot of lightly boiling water, pour half of the gnocchi in. Wait until they begin to float to the top, then let cook for a minute or two. Remove with a slotted spoon and lay on a cutting board.

Repeat with the remaining gnocchi. Put gnocchi in the refrigerator for 5 minutes, then add 1½ tablespoons olive oil to a skillet. Saute gnocchi for 5-6 minutes on medium heat, stirring, until they are crisp on the outside. Sprinkle with a bit of salt (this is key!).

Now it was onto deciding what to serve over top of the gnocchi. We recently had a cooking demo at work that featured a pasta dish with a maple Dijon sauce. Since I couldn’t eat it with the past I figured it was the perfect opportunity to try it out with this dish and had the notion that it would pair well with ground turkey simmered in garlic, sage, and thyme. But what veggies to throw in? Kale and asparagus seemed to be the perfect savory accompaniments to the sweetness of the maple and sweet potatoes. If you are avoiding naturally sweetened dishes, and the maple syrup is throwing you off from trying this dish, I suggest experimenting with a sage pesto sauce. I haven’t tried it yet, but this one from The Suburban Soapbox caught my eye to try out next time.

We made this meal with friends for a fun date night in! It was certainly an experience making pasta from scratch. Hint, hint: next time I think I’ll be buying canned (BPA-free) sweet potato puree to skip a few steps. Luckily we had some delicious Ithaca Hummus, rainbow carrots, and Plentils to hold us over until dinner time! Side note: Best. Hummus. Ever. (and made right in my town!).

Here is the recipe for the maple Dijon sauce adapted from food.com, along with my recipe for the ground turkey and veggie topping:

INGREDIENTS

Maple Dijon Sauce

185ml pure maple syrup

125ml Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon mustard seeds (heaped teaspoon)

1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper

Ground Turkey Topping

1lb organic ground turkey

1 medium sized onion chopped

10oz asparagus cut into pieces (fresh or frozen if not in season)

2 cups chopped kale

2 tablespoons coconut oil (olive oil works too)

2 cloves garlic minced

2 teaspoons ground sage

1 tablespoon dried thyme

fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste

Optional Garnish

Shaved raw milk organic Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring the maple syrup to the boil and boil keeping it bubbling. When the bubbles start to go from small to big and the mixture is thickened it should be ready ( about 4-5 minutes).

Remove maple mixture from heat when thickened and let cool

While maple mixture is cooling, heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat

Add in chopped onion until and cook for 3-5 minutes until it begins to become translucent

Now add in the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink, break up the pieces of meat as you cook

Add in the kale and asparagus to the mixture and cook until the kale has begun to wilt and the asparagus is fork tender. (if using fresh asparagus you may want to add it in a few minutes ahead of the kale.

Once the maple mixture has cooled, whisk in the Dijon mustard, seeds and pepper